The Bundle of Blanket
by cosmictrap
Summary: Reunion Fic - OS - Nick arrives at the Jaipur Aviv so he could talk to his best friend about Jess. But he arrives moments after Schmidt does, so Jess is still asleep on the couch and to cover for her, Schmidt tells Nick that it's just an ill Cece under the blanket. So Nick begins to talk under the assumption that it's Cece under the blanket.


**A/N: Guess who has no life! Meeee! I wrote another OS while working on _We Found Wonderland._**

 **The Jaipur Aviv Layout might be bit messed up lol. But please roll with it :D And in this, let's all assume that when Nick arrives at Schmidt's house, he has already realized his feelings for Jess.**

* * *

Schmidt entered the house quietly, listening for signs of Cece. Frowning, he was setting down his briefcase when he spotted a blanketed bundle on the couch and smiled knowingly. He started tiptoeing towards his sleeping wife when he heard Nick's voice outside the door and whirled around, surprised. Rolling his eyes with amusement as he heard Nick fumble with his keys and stuttering an explanation, he walked towards and swung it open.

"Nicholas! What brings you here?" he asked, arms crossed.

"What, can't a friend drop by for no reason at all?" asked Nick indignantly.

Schmidt narrowed his eyes at him. "What do I look like Nick, an idiot?"

"Schmidt, I-"

"You know I'm always here for you Nick, why must you lie?" said Schmidt, shaking his head.

"Fine, you got me," said Nick, mildly annoyed. "I wanted to talk… to _both_ of you.

" _Both_ of us, what- Oh. This is about Jessica, isn't it. I should've known," said Schmidt, stepping aside to let him in.

As Nick stepped into the living room, Schmidt gestured to the sleeping bundle on the couch and gestured for him to wait. Schmidt walked to the couch and placed a hand on wha was the shoulder of the sleeping form.

"Cece, honey? Nick is here. He wanted to talk to us," he said softly.

The bundle remained unmoving. Schmidt looked at Nick, smiling a little and "She's a heavy sleeper," before turning back again. He tugged at the blanket, gently at first but when it didn't give away, he started using more force.

"What the-" he grumbled. "Cecelia, why are you-" and ran his hands over the blanket to find the wrist and then tugged at the blanket out of the hands. He yelped in shock as a pair of frantic, sky blue eyes stared back at him, the request clear in them as they darted towards Nick for a moment and back at him.

"Schmidt, what-" started Nick, walking towards the couch.

Hurriedly throwing the blanket back on her face, Schmidt stood up, regaining himself after the moment of shock. "It's nothing, Nicholas. Cece's got the er, allergies, so she's… you know…" said Schmidt, pointing at his face, before looking away and gesturing with one hand at the blanket bundle, the other rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh, shouldn't you put her in quarantine, then?"

"It's an allergy, Nicholas! It's not contagious!" said Schmidt with disdain.

Nick shrugged nonchalantly, as Schmidt turned to look at Nick seriously. "Let's take this to the kitchen, then?" said Schmidt.

"But I want to talk to Cece as well!" Insisted Nick, pointing at the couch.

"Did you not hear me, Nick? Cece's down with allergies!"

"She can still hear me though, right?"

Schmidt rubbed his eyes frustratedly. It wouldn't be right to talk to Nick about Jess _to_ Jess.

 _Or would it?_

 _"_ Fine, what is it Nick?"

Nick sat down on the armrest of the couch. "I think I saw Jess today, Schmidt."

Schmidt raised his eyebrows. "Nicholas, you're _hallucinating_ , now?"

Nick frowned. "I don't think I was. I called Jess, but she said she was still in Portland."

"Then she's probably still in Portland, Nick. This is silly!" said Schmidt, laughing nervously.

"I don't know Schmidt. I'm so sure it was her!" He turned to "Cece" and asked, "What do you think, Cece?"

A strangled voice came from under the blanket. "I- I don't think so, Nick. Last I heard, she was still in Portland. And that last I heard was like, ten minutes ago. So…"

Schmidt looked at the bundle in horror at the sound of the voice. It was well disguised, no doubt, and sounded nothing like Jess, but it sounded like a dying old man with lung problems.

"Wow, you sound terrible!" laughed Nick, looking wide-eyed at Schmidt, who merely shrugged uncomfortably.

"So, er, do you know when Jess is coming back?" asked Nick, looking at Schmidt and then at "Cece".

"Probably quite soon, Nick. She-"

"She isn't coming back," came the old man noise from under the blanket.

"What!?" exclaimed both the men, completely surprised.

"What do you mean _she's not coming back!"_ asked Nick.

"Not until the end of summer at least," came the reply.

Schmidt simply opened his mouth and shrugged, completely taken aback. He sat on the couch, next to the bundle. Hesitantly, he placed a hand on the form's shoulder. "Why not?"

"She needs some time to figure things out, Schmidt."

Under the blanket, Jess lay rigidly still. She heard Schmidt sigh and felt a little guilty.

"But I- She'll be back, after the summer," she said, and coughed. The Oldman voice was straining her throat.

She swallowed, wondering if now would be a good time to tell them of her decision to move out of the loft as well. Nick was here too, and if she told them now, they'd already be warmed up to the idea when she pretended to tell them for the first time after summer.

"And uh, I'm not supposed to tell you this, but I'm only telling you so that when she _does_ tell you, you go a little easy on her, okay guys?" she said, chuckling nervously.

"What?" said Schmidt, sounding extremely wary.

 _This does not sound good, at all._

He thought, shooting a Nick a furtive look, who simply nodded, his face scrunched up in extreme concentration.

"Nick?" he said, gesturing towards "Cece".

Nick was about to say something, but froze when he saw Cece suddenly fly into the living room, eyes wide, and it took him less than a second to connect the dots, as he looked at the couch.

…

Cece wondered if she was imagining a conversation downstairs when she woke up feeling thirsty. After laying in her bed for a few moments, she decided to check, grimacing at the thought of another entry. As she slowly took the stairs, she heard Schmidt's voice.

 _Why hadn't he come upstairs?_

And then, she heard Nick's and frowned in surprise as another thought struck her.

 _Jess is asleep on the couch!_

She rushed downstairs, and almost ran to the living, worried for Jess. As soon as she entered, she saw Schmidt and Nick's heads turn towards her. Schmidt winced and looked at Nick, who was staring at her wide-eyed. She saw realisation cross his face and she opened her mouth to say something, when Nick gestured to her to keep silent.

Understanding that Jess was trying to pass herself off as Cece, she looked at Schmidt beseeching for some form of help, but as he Nick's warning face, he recognised that look; it was his "back off" look. He held both his hands up in surrender as Cece looked at him indignantly.

…

"What?" she heard Schmidt, apprehension evident in his voice.

Silence.

"Nick?" she heard Schmidt, presumably asking for his assurance

She waited heard Nick, but there was only silence. She inhaled deeply, tightening her grip around the blanket.

After a few moments, she felt Schmidt get up suddenly from next to her, and seconds later, she felt the couch dip again and her breathing hitched when she recognised the sudden scent that invaded the blanket.

…

Nick gestured to Schmidt to move aside, and he jumped up, as Cece walked towards them apprehensively and stood behind the couch. She really wanted to say something, anything, to give her a warning.

"Fine, what… What is it, _Cece_ ," he said, looking carefully at the bundle on the couch.

"Don't tell Jess, you know alright? Pretend like you didn't know when she tells you," she said, and added softly, "And… don't. be mad at her."

Schmidt looked at Cece questioningly, but she only shook her head once, looking at Nick worriedly. Nick swallowed, worry gnawing at his heart and trying to keep his voice even, said, "I won't be."

He heard a deep intake of breath, and the words that came out were so rushed that he almost didn't make them out. Almost.

"Jess is moving out of the loft after she comes back from Portland."

Nick stared at Jess' form, unsure if he'd heard correctly, and when he finally processed it, he grumbled a low, "What?"

Schmidt turned to look at Cece, outraged. "What!?"

"Jess, why-"

"No, Nick, this is _Cece_. _Jess_ is in _Portland_ ," said Jess from under the blanket, laughing nervously.

Cece opened her mouth to say something, but Schmidt squeezed her. "Let them get it all out, Cece. They need to sort whatever _this_ is themselves," he whispered.

"Jessica-" started Nick, warningly.

"Cecelia," said Jess, automatically.

Nick grunted frustrated, and started to pull her blanket away. He heard her squeak and felt the blanket being held on to more tightly.

"Jessica, stop being such a child!" he exclaimed, continuing to tug.

"Nicholas, stop tugging at the blanket!" she said, high-pitched, forgetting to do her Dying Oldman Voice.

"A-ha! So it _is_ Jessica!"

"What, _I never said that_!" she replied quickly.'

Grunting in annoyance, Nick stood up and pulled at the blanket harder, and she held on with equal resistance.

"Damn. You. Are. Strong. For. Such. A. Small. Person," he grunted, each word punctuated by a pull.

"What is happening right now?" said Schmidt, looking at the ceiling, and Cece, unable to stand it any longer, went Jess' aid.

She went behind the armrest towards which Jess' head was and pulled at the blanket as well, knees against the couch for support.

"Are you serious right now?" growled Nick, and looked at Schmidt for help.

Schmidt opened his mouth slightly, and looked at Cece who looked at him warningly, and then at Nick his teeth grinding as he pulled at the blanket.

"I want no part of this! Jessica, will you get out from under there! My Neiman Marcus throw is going to rip and it'll be your fault!" he said dramatically.

"NO!" she said, loudly, panting under the blanket, as she wondered who was helping _her_ if Schmidt wanted no part of this.

 _Cece._

She felt herself smile as she thought about how grateful she was for her best friend. The smile was wiped away as she felt a shooting pain in her arm and was reminded of the tug of war she was having, while simultaneously realising why Nick had been so sure it was her underneath. Instead of letting go she started to pull harder. With all her strength, she yanked it in a powerful, singular jerk and heard Cece yelp in surprise as she stumbled back

Nick loosened his grip on the blanket, the sudden yank taking him by surprise, and started to fall forward at the force when he saw a blur of colour springing from the couch. As Jess jumped up ready to bolt, he grabbed her wrist, taking her down with him.

She fell on her back as he landed on top of her, his face hovering hardly a few inches above her. His hand was still holding her wrist, now stuck between both of them and behind her lopsided glasses, her eyes were squeezed shut. Her eyes flew open when she felt him squeeze her hand he was still holding onto.

"Nick! Fancy seeing _you_ here!" she said, laughing nervously.

He rolled his eyes at her. "Really? _That's_ what you're going with?"

And that was their cue. Schmidt and Cece exchanged meaningful glances and slunk away to the kitchen, with Schmidt hoping against hope that they wouldn't have sex on his beautiful couch.

She tried to get up, but he refused to move, still holding onto her, locking her between both his knees. His left hand was holding on to hers, still between both of them, and the other was position next to her face, as he hovered above her.

"You were there, weren't you?" he asked softly.

"I- I don't know what you're talking about."

"Jessica, I know you were there," he said. Then he looked into her eyes and asked quietly, "Why did you run?"

"I really don't know what you're talking about, Nick," she whispered.

"They are fundamentally different people, Jess," he said, and Jess looked away, willing herself not to cry. "But Pepperwood is an idiot. He was scared of the differences, but he realised that their differences made him want to be a better person. Because he loved her."

She reluctantly dragged her eyes back to him, slightly startled. "She loved him too. So much," she said emotionally, adding in a whisper, "But it wasn't enough…"

Nick sighed. "Pepperwood thought so too, so he gave up and let her go. He wishes he hadn't."

"But Pepperwood moved on," she said quietly.

"That's what it must've seemed like because that's what he thought too. But he loved her," he said, "He's never stopped… Jessica Night had moved on too," he said, looking at her, the question in his eyes.

"That's what it must've seemed like because that's what she thought," she replied, giving him a watery smile. "She loved him too. Never stopped."

"If Pepperwood had known…" started Nick, just as Jess said, "If Jessica Night had known…"

They looked at each other and laughed. "Well, now they know," she said, smiling at him.

"Now they know," he agreed, releasing her hand and cradling her neck, his thumb caressing her jawline. She smiled at him as colour rushed to her cheeks, and he let out a low chuckle, in awe of the effect he still had on her.

He bent down to kiss her, slightly hesitant at first, but when he felt her kissing him back, he let go and they kissed with the fervour of lovers who had been apart for eternity, because that's what it felt like. After another eternity seemed to have passed, they pulled apart for air, breathing raggedly, stupid smiles on both their faces.

"I love you, Miller," she breathed.

Bending for another kiss, shorter but slower, he gave her a small smile. "I love you too, Day."

* * *

 **A/N: I think I will write a prequel OS to this about how Nick came to realise his feelings. A more fleshed out version than the show, starting from the reading. itself, and include what drove him to come to Schmidt and Cece. That'll tie this up nicely then. Yayy!**

 **Leave reviews, roomfriends. I need validation :D**


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